Harry Potter and the Circle of Illusionists
by Kori
Summary: Harry Potter has had his fill of fighting off Voldemort. But in his 5th year, he's going to discover and evil much closer to home.


"Get the paper, boy. And be quick about it."  
  
Uncle Vernon barked his typical morning greeting as Harry clattered down the  
stairs. Harry doubted that even if his uncle knew today was his fifteenth   
birthday that his greeting would have changed a bit. Harry looked longingly at  
the plate of hot bacon Aunt Petunia was setting on the table, then gave a sigh  
and headed out the door. As he walked down the driveway, he looked across the  
street and saw two of the neighbor's children huddled together by their driveway,  
holding a letter and whispering to each other. This Harry wouldn't have paid  
much attention to, but as one of the children shifted, he caught a glimpse of  
one of the letters the other was holding. It was in a brown parchment envelope,  
and even from where he was standing, Harry could see the red wax seal holding it  
closed.  
  
There was no doubting it that it was a letter from Hogwarts. He'd received his  
own this morning, containing a list of books he needed for his 5th year. The  
children, a boy and a girl and twins by the looks of it, appeared about the  
right age to be accepted into Hogwarts. But Harry could tell they weren't  
expecting this. Both of them looked nervous as they read the letter, and the boy  
gave a shaky laugh when he was done. Harry hesitated, and then started across  
the street towards him. The girl looked up at him as he neared, and blinked in  
surprise. Both of them had orange-red hair and bright blue eyes, as well as fair  
skin and slightly over-sized noses.  
  
"Can I help you?" The boy asked, also looked up. Abruptly, Harry realized he  
didn't know exactly why he had come over to them.  
  
"Um... I couldn't help but notice you've both gotten letters from Hogwarts." He  
stammered, pointing to the two letters the girl was holding. She gave him a  
slightly accusing stare.  
  
"Is this some kind of joke? School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Not very amusing,  
if you ask me." She sniffed condescendingly and made as though to rip the  
letters in half. Hastily, Harry reached out and took hold of her wrist to stop  
her.  
  
"Wait," He said sincerely. "It's not a joke. It's real."  
  
"Of course it isn't!" The boy jumped in, pulling his sister's arm out of Harry's  
grip. "Who are you, anyways? Did you send us these letters?"  
  
"I'm... I'm Harry Potter." He replied, realizing he was going to need more than  
words to convince these kids. If only his wand weren't locked beneath the stairs  
with the rest of his school supplies. "I live across the street." But, Harry  
realized, the two children weren't even listening to him anymore. They were  
engaged in a heated, quiet argument with each other. After a moment, they  
quieted, and then the girl spoke up.  
  
"Okay, supposing this 'Hogwarts' you're telling us about is real." She  
brandished the list of supplies under Harry's nose. "Where are we supposed to  
get all this stuff? I don't know a place in the entire city that sells  
cauldrons." The girl finished smugly.  
  
"In Diagon Alley." Harry's response was met with skeptical looks from both the  
children.  
  
"In Diag-what?" The boy exclaimed. "There's no such place!"  
  
"Yes, there is." He said feeling slightly aggravated now. "Listen, I'll be going  
there to pick up my supplies on Saturday. If you want, you can come and I'll  
prove to you this isn't a hoax. Meet me at the Bookstar in the London Mall at noon."  
For a moment, both of them were silent, and then the boy nodded.  
  
"All right, then. But this better not be some kind of joke." The girl opened her  
mouth to add something to that, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon's harsh bellow  
floated through the door Harry had left open.  
  
"What are you waiting for, boy? Get the paper and come back inside!"  
  
"Sorry, I've got to go. Goodbye."  
  
"All right. Goodbye, Harry Potter!" The girl called over her shoulder, and the  
two of them turned around and scampered up the driveway and through the front  
door. 


End file.
